News from our Secondary Principal, Craig Randall
Dear Parents,
Semester one final exams for grades 9-11 and non IB grade 12 classes will be held on December 10-16 with make-up exams on December 17. IB year two Mock exams, which will count as final exams, will be held in late January. More details to follow later.
As another reminder Parent/Teacher/Student conferences are coming up soon so mark your calendars. On Wednesday November 11th conferences will run from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. On Thursday November 12th conferences will run from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. All secondary conferences take place in the gymnasium in an open concept. This means all the teachers are at tables in the gym, with names and a map clearly marking where everyone is located. We suggest you work your way around the room from teacher to teacher. If you see a teacher is busy, there are one of two options, wait until they are free or go see another teacher and come back to that teacher later.
Conferences will run for ten minutes and thank you in advance for being cognizant of the time and respectful of other parents wanting to speak to the same teachers. This will be a great opportunity to check on your child’s progress, celebrate achievements and possibly look for ways to improve performance.
We strongly encourage you to bring your child to attend the conferences with you. We find that having teachers, parents and students together lead to the most productive conference meetings. Lastly, counselors and administrators will be available in the gym as well. We look forward to seeing you on the 11th or 12th.
Sincerely,
Craig Randall
Semester one final exams for grades 9-11 and non IB grade 12 classes will be held on December 10-16 with make-up exams on December 17. IB year two Mock exams, which will count as final exams, will be held in late January. More details to follow later.
As another reminder Parent/Teacher/Student conferences are coming up soon so mark your calendars. On Wednesday November 11th conferences will run from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. On Thursday November 12th conferences will run from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. All secondary conferences take place in the gymnasium in an open concept. This means all the teachers are at tables in the gym, with names and a map clearly marking where everyone is located. We suggest you work your way around the room from teacher to teacher. If you see a teacher is busy, there are one of two options, wait until they are free or go see another teacher and come back to that teacher later.
Conferences will run for ten minutes and thank you in advance for being cognizant of the time and respectful of other parents wanting to speak to the same teachers. This will be a great opportunity to check on your child’s progress, celebrate achievements and possibly look for ways to improve performance.
We strongly encourage you to bring your child to attend the conferences with you. We find that having teachers, parents and students together lead to the most productive conference meetings. Lastly, counselors and administrators will be available in the gym as well. We look forward to seeing you on the 11th or 12th.
Sincerely,
Craig Randall
COLLEGES VISITING CAMPUS for Seniors & Juniors
NOVEMBER
November 8 @ 9am-9:45am — Qatar Education City: Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M Univ., Weill Cornell Medical College, Georgetown Univ., Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
November 10 @ 9am-9:45am — Mini-fair: UC Santa Cruz, University of Tampa, Rollins College, St. Edward’s Univ.
November 15 @ 9am-9:45am- UAE University Options Fair: American University Dubai, American University Sharjah, International Horizons College (IHC), Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi University
GRADE LEVEL INFO
SENIOR Info (grade 12)
1) Don't miss important ACT/SAT Registration deadlines! Students sign up on their own on the testing websites.
SAT Registration: sat.org/international
ACT Registration: www.actstudent.org
2) Sign up for College & University Visits
JUNIOR Info (grade 11)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
Continue to Sign-Up for College and University Visits
SOPHOMORE Info (grade 10)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
FRESHMAN Info (grade 9)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
NOVEMBER
November 8 @ 9am-9:45am — Qatar Education City: Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M Univ., Weill Cornell Medical College, Georgetown Univ., Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
November 10 @ 9am-9:45am — Mini-fair: UC Santa Cruz, University of Tampa, Rollins College, St. Edward’s Univ.
November 15 @ 9am-9:45am- UAE University Options Fair: American University Dubai, American University Sharjah, International Horizons College (IHC), Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi University
GRADE LEVEL INFO
SENIOR Info (grade 12)
1) Don't miss important ACT/SAT Registration deadlines! Students sign up on their own on the testing websites.
SAT Registration: sat.org/international
ACT Registration: www.actstudent.org
2) Sign up for College & University Visits
JUNIOR Info (grade 11)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
Continue to Sign-Up for College and University Visits
SOPHOMORE Info (grade 10)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
FRESHMAN Info (grade 9)
Semester exams are approaching in December. Now is the time to begin your preparation. Organize yourself and your study calendar.
News from our IB Diploma Coordinator, Patrick Lyons
Dear Parents,
This week began for the IB Coordinators and selected administration at The Hague at the IB Regional Conference. The event was a fascinating look into the future of the various programmes with invaluable insights and updates that we will share in due course. I was particularly impressed with the trend towards learning about how systems work as entities in themselves that are often more than the sum of their parts and the implications for an increasingly complex world.
On a more practical level, through building contacts and getting our name out there, we have been able to build opportunities for our students. Starting next week, Grade 11s and 12s will have the opportunity to trial a suite of online textbook resources that we hope can help to build understanding, motivation and achievement for our students.
The following week, we will be visited by Joyce Halsey from Oxford Study Courses who will run a series of seminars for students during the day and from 2.10, she will be running two seminars for parents too. “How to support your child in IB Diploma.” Followed at 3.00 by a seminar aimed at Grade 10 parents and students; “Why choose IB?”
There is plenty more I would love to share but that’s it for now. Keep talking to your Grade 11 and 12 children about their IB courses and also about the IB Core.
Paddy Lyons
IB Diploma Coordinator
This week began for the IB Coordinators and selected administration at The Hague at the IB Regional Conference. The event was a fascinating look into the future of the various programmes with invaluable insights and updates that we will share in due course. I was particularly impressed with the trend towards learning about how systems work as entities in themselves that are often more than the sum of their parts and the implications for an increasingly complex world.
On a more practical level, through building contacts and getting our name out there, we have been able to build opportunities for our students. Starting next week, Grade 11s and 12s will have the opportunity to trial a suite of online textbook resources that we hope can help to build understanding, motivation and achievement for our students.
The following week, we will be visited by Joyce Halsey from Oxford Study Courses who will run a series of seminars for students during the day and from 2.10, she will be running two seminars for parents too. “How to support your child in IB Diploma.” Followed at 3.00 by a seminar aimed at Grade 10 parents and students; “Why choose IB?”
There is plenty more I would love to share but that’s it for now. Keep talking to your Grade 11 and 12 children about their IB courses and also about the IB Core.
Paddy Lyons
IB Diploma Coordinator
Grade 6 Physical Health Education
It has been a great start to the grade 6 year! Well done! We are proud of the way many of the students have taken to the changes while remaining caring cooperative and courageous.
It has been a great start to the grade 6 year! Well done! We are proud of the way many of the students have taken to the changes while remaining caring cooperative and courageous.
Physical Health Education classes are just that - they are Physical and Healthy. We practice physical literacy movement skills that will keep us active for life. Participation for life is our goal.
This means:
- Be an active listeners,
- Do you best at drills and games,
- Lead and cooperate when creating teams
- Play fair and contribute to our class in a positive manner.
- Be aware of your influence
- Self-regulate your social and emotional behavior by setting “smart’ goals.
As part of the Physial Health Education classes in grade 6 we have taken on the 60 Minute Kids Club (MKC) challenge. For 30 days students have been asked to be personally responsible for tracking their health habits. They are to track physical and mental health habits. This is the first of 3 challenges they are expected to participate in.
Thank you very much for your continued efforts in making healthy happy choices in your grade 6 year.
News from our Curriculum Coordinator, Jen Parker
What an exciting adventure for me in the Curriculum Coordinator (6-12) role thus far! These past two months have provided a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know the secondary teachers and students better as well as to see the teaching and learning in action. Students are being provided an engaging curriculum with a variety of learning activities and assessments. These practices and approaches are continually improving. Students are participating in academic dialogues, on-line assessments, games like “Kahoot” that allow for self-assessment, goal-setting, projects, tomato mummifications and other labs, flip learning, and learning that gets them moving around the room and sharing ideas.
Amazing student work reflecting their learning is proudly displayed on our bulletin boards but I know you cannot always see this. As such, I wish to take the opportunity to share with you a “Where I’m From” poem written by a grade 9 student. English 9 students were given a template and asked to reflect on who they are; here is a before and after:
The WHERE I'M FROM Template (http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm)
I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail) Further description.
I am from _______ (specific food) and ____ (item)
I’m from the ____________ (description of family tendency) and ________.
From _____ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (place of birth and family ancestry).
I’m from ______ (place of birth) and ______ (family ancestry),
_________ and ___________ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).
Under my _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).
The WHERE I'M FROM Template (http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm)
I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail) Further description.
I am from _______ (specific food) and ____ (item)
I’m from the ____________ (description of family tendency) and ________.
From _____ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (place of birth and family ancestry).
I’m from ______ (place of birth) and ______ (family ancestry),
_________ and ___________ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).
Under my _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).
Where I’m From – by Ibraheem Uzbeck
I am from paper,
From iPhones and Converse.
I am from The five-bedroom villa.
(loud, loved
It felt suburban).
I am from the Rosemary
The Lavender
Whose smells remind me of coming home.
I am from Fish and chips and medicine magazines,
From Dublin and Ireland.
I’m from the late night eaters
And competitive scrabble players,
From the music enthusiasts
And play-fighters.
I’m from the Friday prayers.
I’m from Ireland
And Uzbekistan,
Green tea and muffins.
From the ironing board falling on my head
And the birth of my sister.
Under my wooden box in an antique cupboard
Where pictures of now forgotten people
Lay to rest.
I am from paper,
From iPhones and Converse.
I am from The five-bedroom villa.
(loud, loved
It felt suburban).
I am from the Rosemary
The Lavender
Whose smells remind me of coming home.
I am from Fish and chips and medicine magazines,
From Dublin and Ireland.
I’m from the late night eaters
And competitive scrabble players,
From the music enthusiasts
And play-fighters.
I’m from the Friday prayers.
I’m from Ireland
And Uzbekistan,
Green tea and muffins.
From the ironing board falling on my head
And the birth of my sister.
Under my wooden box in an antique cupboard
Where pictures of now forgotten people
Lay to rest.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
We look forward to sharing in the learning and discussing goal-setting during
parent-teacher-student conferences on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 11 & 12).
Please also join us in an information session on Monday, Nov. 9 at 11:30 in the Auditorium to hear about the Library as well as our upcoming MAPs testing for grades 2 to 10.
We look forward to sharing in the learning and discussing goal-setting during
parent-teacher-student conferences on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 11 & 12).
Please also join us in an information session on Monday, Nov. 9 at 11:30 in the Auditorium to hear about the Library as well as our upcoming MAPs testing for grades 2 to 10.
Here is our Community and Secondary School Calendar - Scroll through the months to see what's planned for this year at GAA
Please make sure you check this calendar regularly for updates and new events